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by Ace Of Hearts (huntingmyths)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Prompto is a sad bean, Suicidal Thoughts, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:04:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntingmyths/pseuds/Ace%20Of%20Hearts
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple first mission for Prompto. A few days and he'd be on his way back to Insomnia to see his boyfriend. At least that was the plan until Insomnia fell.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Nyx Ulric
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





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“Insomnia… falls?”

Prompto felt his heart stutter as he read the words on the newspaper. He had just seen Nyx two days ago before Prompto had left with Noctis and the others. Nyx had taken Prompto aside and had proposed to him with the promise of a wedding as soon as they returned from Noctis’s wedding in Altissia.

They had spoken just the previous morning, Nyx mentioning that Lunafreya had arrived in Insomnia for the peace treaty. It hadn’t made sense to Prompto, but the Glaive had just said that he was personally instructed to be her security detail while she was there.

His fingers fumbled as he pulled out the chain hidden under his shirt. Looped through it was the ring that Nyx had given him, a ring that Nyx had apparently saved up for months for. Libertus had even messaged him saying that everyone else had donated funds to help pay for it because someone had finally managed to tame the Hero.

Prompto’s hand squeezed around the ring as he listened to Gladio read the article out loud. He could feel it cutting into his hand as he tried to fight the panic that was rising up in him. All of his friends not including these three were there. All the Glaives that treated him like family when not even his own parents had; who had become brothers and sisters to him.

He was too stunned to do anything except listen to the conversation.

“We can’t be sure until we see it with our own eyes,” Gladio spoke up, getting Prompto’s attention.

The blond turned around from the window as he said, “And that means we go back to Insomnia.”

“Might not be safe for us there,” Ignis stated, his calm voice frustrating.

“Might not be safe for us here,” came the response.

He wouldn’t admit that it was because he wanted to go ensure that Nyx was still alive. They knew that he had a boyfriend, one who was a member of the Glaive though they had never met him before. They just didn’t know how serious things were with him, how much Prompto cared for Nyx.

“Turn back?” Gladio asked, turning his attention to Noctis.

Prompto’s gaze turned towards the prince and his best friend. Ultimately what Noctis said went, though Prompto wouldn’t be against leaving them if it meant ensuring his fiance was safe.

As soon as Noctis gave the go ahead, they all started to pack up their things. Prompto hid his ring back under his shirt, moving quickly as he fought the urge to pull out his phone.

“Try calling your boyfriend,” Noctis said, getting Prompto’s attention. “Maybe he can give us some more information.”

Prompto nodded, pulling out his phone as they got into the car. He dialed the familiar number, praying to the Six that there was an answer.

_ “You’ve reached Nyx Ulric,”  _ came the familiar message.  _ “Too busy saving all your sorry asses to answer the phone. Leave a message.” _

“Idiot, you forgot to charge your phone again,” the blond joked, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “Drautos is going to kill you for being so forgetful and you're already on thin ice with him. Just… call me when you get this. Let me know you’re okay.”

He ended the call as Ignis said, “I’m sure he’s trying to help the survivors of the attack.”

“Yeah,” Prompto muttered, putting his phone away.

The trip to Insomnia felt longer than it had been leaving. He had never felt so helpless before, even when he had been attacked for being from Niflhiem hadn’t left him feeling so helpless.

They made their way towards a lookout through some old ruins. It was a place that Nyx had taken him before, had woken him up before sunrise to leave. It had been so beautiful to watch the sun come up, illuminate the city and break through the tall buildings that didn’t seem so tall from this far away.

What was left of it was nothing but smoky ruins, Prompto’s heart dropping into his stomach. He tried to keep from becoming sick as he stared at the destroyed city, his phone playing the news report about it. There was nothing about the Glaive or Crownsguard, which Prompto wasn’t surprised about. They rarely reported anything on those who protected the city.

They made their way to Hammerhead, only to be directed somewhere else to meet with the Marshal Cor Leonis. He had been the one to test Prompto’s combat abilities and was actually an okay guy. He was also one of the only people outside of the Glaive and those in the Immigrant District who knew that Prompto and Nyx were together.

They found a member of the Crownsguard named Monica who mentioned that most of the Crownsguard didn’t survive. She mentioned a man named Dustin who Prompto had heard of before. The two were apparently partners if Nyx had told him correct.

“What of the Glaive?” Prompto asked.

Monica stared at him for a moment before saying, “You’re Prompto Argentum, correct?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“The marshal wanted to speak with you himself on that matter.”

Prompto felt swallowed thickly, forcing down the panic. It wasn’t the first time he spoke to someone higher than Nyx on the food chain in regards to his safety. The idiot had a habit of doing stupid stunts that normally wound up with him stuck somewhere, on extra duty, or being sent to the hospital on the rare occasion - that had only happened twice that Prompto knew of.

“Come on,” Gladio said, putting a steadying hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “Let’s go find the Marshal.”

They made their way to a tomb, taking out some birds before finding the Marshal Cor Leonis inside. Prompto turned away as they spoke, refusing to look over at Noctis as he let out his grief about his father. Prompto had no idea what he would do if his fears came true.

“Marshal?” Prompto asked, his voice small. “I haven’t heard anything about the Glaive. They-”

The marshal sighed as he pulled out a letter, saying, “I was told to give this to you. “Monica also has a package for you as well.”

Prompto nodded, staring at the envelope with his name scrawled across in Nyx’s familiar handwriting. After a moment, he pocketed it. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted when they had to go through a cave to find the next Royal Arm.

**

“Are you going to open it?” Noctis prodded as they sat at the haven.

Prompto had gotten the small wrapped package from Monica as soon as they had reached the outpost. She had also accompanied them to the haven for the night, agreeing to answer any questions they had as best as she could.

He carefully opened the box to see two small knives inside. He pulled the first out, staring at it as he read the words on the hilt:  _ “To hearth, and home.” _ The second one as pulled out, the engraving having his name with a little something extra:  _ “Prompto Argentum-Ulric’.  _

Prompto choked on a sob as he stared at the engraving. He knew that Nyx had been planning on buying him Kukris - he had teased Prompto that he needed a weapon - but hadn’t expected them for a long while, especially with how shotgun the proposal had been.

“Prompto?” Noctis asked.

The blond shook his head, whispering, “I already know…”

“Prom-”

“How?” he asked, looking at Monica. “The Kingsglaive were inside the Citadel, weren’t they? What happened?”

“Shouldn’t be surprised Ulric ran his mouth,” Monica sighed, shaking his head. “Some of the Kingsglaive… they betrayed the crown, assisted in the invasion.”

Prompto stared at her in shock, snapping, “You’re wrong. The Glaives were all loyal to-”

He cut himself off, remembering overhearing some of the members of the Glaive mentioning a letter about how the king was abandoning them. How the king had given them false promises as an effort to use them as a body count for the war. He had thought he’d heard Drautos’s name tossed around too, but had just waved it off.

“They were angry,” he muttered. “After the… after the peace treaty was offered. So many were fighting to reclaim their home, had been promised by the king that he would help them.”

“Was your boyfriend one of those?” Gladio asked.

Monica smiled and said, “Ulric was one of the most loyal men in the Kingsglaive.”

“Wait, Nyx Ulric?”

Prompto nodded, curling up in his seat as he fought back his tears. He couldn’t lose it now, not when the Empire was still out there. Not when everyone could see his weakness.

_ “I can’t let them exploit my weakness so I’ll cry when I’m home.” _

“Prompto?” Noctis asked.

The blond wiped his tears, saying, “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. We have to keep going, right?”

“You can grieve," Monica told him. "You all can."

“We can grieve when all this is over,” Prompto stated, staring down at the Kukris that were in his lap. “He… Nyx… he wouldn’t want us to grieve over him when we still have a job to do.”

**

Prompto sat in the hotel room, his camera in his hand. The others had all left to go explore the city, though he had opted to stay behind. As brave a face as he put on for the others, he was hurting more than he wanted to let on.

After the others went to bed, he would stay up and stare at the images on his camera of his fiance or call Nyx’s phone just to hear the man’s voice. He hadn’t been able to be alone at all yet and now that he had the option, he wished that he wasn’t.

Tears slid down his cheeks as he sat on the floor, his back against the bed. Tears splashed on the screen, distorting the image slightly as he continued to stare at the last picture they’d taken together. It had been at one of the small restaurants around the corner from their apartment. They had been there with everyone - Libertus, Luche, and even Drautos had been there - laughing and joking on the last night that Prompto had been in town before leaving with Noct and the others.

_ “Stay safe out there, Kid. Hero Boy needs you to come back safe.” _

_ “Hey, give Luche your camera for a minute, Shutterbug.” _

_ “Give us a kiss, Hero!” _

_ “Nyx, what are you doing? The ground’s filthy and-” _

_ “HEY! It’s cleaner than that apartment building you call a home!” _

_ “Prompto, when you get home from your trip, marry me?” _

_ “Nyx… you fucking idiot… yes.” _

A sob of pain escaped the blond’s lips as he curled up into a ball. He didn’t know why he was there with the others anyway. The only reason he became a member of the Crownsguard was a mix of Noctis asking him and Nyx giving his recommendation. He wasn’t qualified at all to be part of this trip. He hadn’t been trained more than learning how to use guns and messing around with Nyx’s Kukris.

Maybe… maybe they would be better without him. Maybe it would have been better if he wasn’t around to slow them down. The car probably wouldn’t have broken down and Noctis would already be part way across the Altissia. He would have been caught in the crossfire in Insomnia, but would that have been a bad thing when he could join Nyx in a peaceful death?

“Prompto?”   


Prompto sniffed, wiping his eyes as he said, “Sorry, sorry. I-I just…”

There was the sound of bags being placed on the ground before Ignis walked over and knelt in front of the blond. Prompto shook his head, stowing the camera back into the armiger.

“We didn’t realize you were having such a difficult time,” Ignis said.

“I’m fine,” Prompto muttered, wiping his eyes again. “I’ll be fine. I… I have to be.”

“You can grieve, you know,” Ignis assured him.

“The rest of you don’t-”

“My parents passed when I was a child and Gladio wasn’t close with his father.”

Prompto frowned at that, not noticing the others come in as he asked, “Why am I here, Ignis? You and Gladio, I understand, but… I’m just a civilian who isn’t even really a Crownsguard. Hell, I barely passed my test. Noctis kept pushing them to accept me and Nyx… maybe you’re all just better off without me. I should have stayed in Insomnia with Nyx.”

“And let you die with my Dad and everyone else?” Noctis questioned.

“I’m no help to anyone. I just get in everyone’s way. You would be better off without me.”

“Says who?”

“Says everyone if you’ve listened to what people say about me when I’m just walking around on the streets. I’m a Nif, my own parents didn’t even want me.”

Gladio snorted at that, saying, “If we didn’t want you with us, we wouldn't have asked you to come. Hell, you're the best shot I've seen in the Crownsguard."

Prompto's fingers unconsciously wrapped tightly around the wristband on his right wrist that covered the marking he had only ever allowed Nyx to see. They definitely wouldn't want him around once they saw it. It made him feel even more of an outcast than even being born in Niflhiem.

"I think I was told by Dad once that it helps to talk about the people you lost. It helps remember how much good they did instead of focusing on their loss."

Prompto frowned as he stared at his best friend. What was he supposed to say? How was he even supposed to begin?

"Why don't you tell us how you met?" Ignis offered.

Prompto nodded, remembering the day clearly. He took a deep breath before starting to speak, a small smile on his lips.

Maybe this would be alright. Maybe Nyx had sacrificed himself so Prompto could continue to help protect Noct.

**Author's Note:**

> I do have some additional ideas for this timeline, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to them. Let me know if there are any requests you want to see in this timeline.


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